REVEALED: Investigation launched into Adani port release

COAL CONCERNS: Activists are asking for further tests to determine whether water from Abbot Point which spilled into an adjacent wetlands was polluted. Right is Abbot Point before the flood. Left during the flood.Queensland Government

THE State Government has begun investigating the release of polluted water into the Caley Valley wetlands from Adani's neighbouring Abbot Point coal port, near Bowen.

Environmentalists claim the release showed Adani did not have the capacity to operate in sensitive environments, but the State Government said the port appeared to be operating within licensed limits.

The Department of Environment and Heritage Protection said it became aware last week of the satellite imagery which appears to show sediment-laden water flowing from the Abbott Point coal terminal settlement ponds into the Caley Valley wetland.

It said sites such as Abbott Point Coal Terminal were allowed to release water of suitable quality under certain conditions of their environmental authority and they can apply for a temporary emissions licence.

It said Abbot Point was granted a temporary emissions licence during Tropical Cyclone Debbie which allowed for a temporary increase in the release limits for total suspended solids.